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Despite a nationwide drop in new housing starts last month, South Florida’s improving housing market has led to many new developments and increased alternatives for home buyers, the Sun Sentinel reported. Now that Floridians are finally feeling enough confidence in … Continue reading →

FAT Village brings art to downtown Fort Lauderdale

South Florida Business Journal by Kevin Gale, Editor in Chief

The “Build a Better Block” street party on Saturday highlighted a redeveloping area just north of downtown Fort Lauderdale.

The party featured a lot of artists, many of whom have galleries in the area, a fitness demonstration, a mini-dog park, street theater, food trucks and temporary exhibitions.

The Flagler Village area between Andrews Avenue and the Florida East Coast Railway tracks has seen a wave of loft developments and the street party highlighted the FAT Village arts district, which has a gallery walk from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. the last Saturday of each month.

Walking through the block party on Saturday made me think of the pointsRichard Florida, author of “The Rise of the Creative Class,” has made about how creative thinking and cultural diversity (including a thriving arts scene) are key ingredients to making economies function best.

That was apparent to me during a recent visit to Asheville, N.C., which has a thriving arts scene, a youthful population and anational reputation as a cool place to live. One of the challenges in South Florida, many economic development leaders note, is keeping young people here after they graduate from college – or getting them to return if they go to college somewhere else.

While there was a mix of all ages at the street party, there was a definite youthful vibe among the attendees and artists.

Among the most successful artists in FAT Village is Alfred Phillips, whose studio is at 113 N.W. Fifth St. He has won “Art Florida” top award for his “Tourist Show” piece and was named best visual artist by the New Times in 2010.

Some of Phillips’ paintings reflect the somewhat urban gritty neighborhood that Flagler Village is morphing out of with chain link fences, alleys and railroad crossings while others are acrylic representations of models or workers.

Paul Fioretti manages to combine art made out of car parts with his South Florida Window Lift business at 445 N.W. First Ave.

One $250 piece had pieces of cranks shafts topped by eight timing belts wrapped around to form a bowl that could create a fire pit. The light from the first spills out through the links in the chain, said Fioretti, who has Indu Art Gallery.

Hooper Development has largely fueled the wave of loft construction in the neighborhood. Based on an MLS search, it looks like most of the lofts have been sold. There were six listingsranging from $179,000 to $500,000 in the neighborhood when I checked on Monday.

Just west of the tracks, work continues on the streetscape along Sistrunk Street (Northwest Sixth Avenue), which hopefully could spur the type of renaissance seen in New York City’s Harlem area. A greenway is also being constructed along Flagler Drive between Andrews Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard.

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Foreclosure filings in the tri-county area increased in May for the sixth straight month, but may be slowing down, data from the foreclosure research firm RealtyTrac shows. Properties with foreclosure filings in the tri-county area were 11 percent higher than they were in May 2011. The increase was especially pronounced in Miami-Dade County, which saw a 39 percent increase in foreclosure activity.

But those foreclosure numbers were significantly lower than in previous months — a sign that South Florida’s foreclosure problem could be peaking. In fact, foreclosures fell 36 percent year-over-year in Broward County.

“It’s possible that somewhere in this range of 7,000 to 10,000 properties a month is what we’re going to see,” RealtyTrac spokesperson Daren Blomquist told The Real Deal.

He noted: “If we continue to see somewhere around that 11 percent increase year-over-year, it may be that we have reached that plateau, and lenders are just pushing through as many [foreclosures] as they can.”

The month-to-month data leads to a similar conclusion. In May, foreclosure filings in South Florida decreased by 22 percent compared to April 2012.

The region was one of just three of the largest 20 metro areas in the United States to see a monthly decline, along with Boston and San Diego.

He cautioned that foreclosure activity at the county level could show more volatility than statewide and national numbers.

Nationally, foreclosure activity has continued to decline. In May, U.S. foreclosure filings fell 4 percent compared to the same period in 2011, the 20th straight month of reductions. That shift has been driven in part by an increase in pre-foreclosure sales, according to RealtyTrac CEO Brandon Moore.

The last six months represent a change from much of 2011, when much of Florida’s activity ground to a halt due to the foreclosure document scandal. After months of decreases, lenders began ramping up their processing toward the end of 2011.

“The lenders are pushing through the delayed foreclosures from a year ago, and continuing to do so,” Blomquist said. “I think the mortgage settlement between the attorneys general and fit major lenders that was finalized in April helped continue the upward trend.”

Foreclosure filings in the tri-county area increased in May for the sixth straight month, but may be slowing down, data from the foreclosure research firm RealtyTrac shows. Properties with foreclosure filings in the tri-county area were 11 percent higher than they were in May 2011. The increase was especially pronounced in Miami-Dade County, which saw a 39 percent increase in foreclosure activity.

But those foreclosure numbers were significantly lower than in previous months — a sign that South Florida’s foreclosure problem could be peaking. In fact, foreclosures fell 36 percent year-over-year in Broward County.

“It’s possible that somewhere in this range of 7,000 to 10,000 properties a month is what we’re going to see,” RealtyTrac spokesperson Daren Blomquist told The Real Deal.

He noted: “If we continue to see somewhere around that 11 percent increase year-over-year, it may be that we have reached that plateau, and lenders are just pushing through as many [foreclosures] as they can.”

The month-to-month data leads to a similar conclusion. In May, foreclosure filings in South Florida decreased by 22 percent compared to April 2012.

The region was one of just three of the largest 20 metro areas in the United States to see a monthly decline, along with Boston and San Diego.

He cautioned that foreclosure activity at the county level could show more volatility than statewide and national numbers.

Nationally, foreclosure activity has continued to decline. In May, U.S. foreclosure filings fell 4 percent compared to the same period in 2011, the 20th straight month of reductions. That shift has been driven in part by an increase in pre-foreclosure sales, according to RealtyTrac CEO Brandon Moore.

The last six months represent a change from much of 2011, when much of Florida’s activity ground to a halt due to the foreclosure document scandal. After months of decreases, lenders began ramping up their processing toward the end of 2011.

“The lenders are pushing through the delayed foreclosures from a year ago, and continuing to do so,” Blomquist said. “I think the mortgage settlement between the attorneys general and fit major lenders that was finalized in April helped continue the upward trend.”